A survey has found some tertiary students are going without proper meals and other essentials as they struggle financially.

Universities Australia said 17 per cent were finding life a struggle as they tried to complete tertiary education.

At the same time, the Federal Government is planning cuts of about $2.8 billion to the university sector.

The concept of a poor student is may not be new, but there was a time back in the 1980s and earlier when students finished university armed with a degree and not in debt.

The era of free education introduced by the Whitlam government ended in the late 1980s when the Hawke government reintroduced tertiary fees, a change that led to fierce protests at campuses across the nation.

Among those who were vocal at that time was Natasha Stott-Despoja, who said it was the issue that propelled her into politics, eventually becoming leader of the Australian Democrats.

"What we've seen is that [struggle] get worse, whether it was under the Howard government you saw cuts to higher education funding, you had an increase in fees and charges and of course the introduction of voluntary student unionism. Now that's all been compounded by the current Labor Government who have cut funds to the sector," she said.

The Federal Government is making the tertiary cuts to help pay for school education reforms recommended by the Gonski review.

There will be a requirement students repay start-up scholarships once they are in the workforce, abolition of a 10 per cent discount for paying higher education fees upfront and a cap of $2,000 on tax concessions for work related self-education expenses.

Disincentive

President of the University of Adelaide Student Representative Council, Catherine Story, said the requirement for students to repay start-up scholarships would hit those who could least afford it.

"We do see kind of a disincentive to come to university, especially from students from low socio-economic areas," she said.

"We'll see the low-income students are more likely to be in greater debt."

Max Cooper received a start-up scholarship, which he will now have to repay.

He said his finances were tight, as were those of friends.

"I know for example a friend who does the same degree and one of the same majors as me worked over 30 hours last week and so pretty much I think had one night where she wasn't either you know flat-out working or flat-out studying," he said.

In addition to the day-to-day expenses, there is the Higher Education Contribution Scheme debt and the amount a student must pay depends on the course studied.

A band 1 degree such as a basic arts degree costs almost $6,000 per year, a band 2 degree such as science or engineering degrees cost more than $8,000 annually and band 3 degrees such as law or medicine cost almost $10,000 for each year of study.

Once a student starts earning over the threshold of just over $50,000 they must begin repaying their debt through the tax system.

While the debt does not earn interest, it is tied to the Consumer Price Index.

Better to get a job?

Natasha Stott-Despoja said some would be deterred from embarking on tertiary courses.

"There are particular groups, particularly disadvantaged groups, groups that may be debt-adverse for example who are going to look at the fees and charges and feel that is an impediment. It also sends a message to many of those younger as well as mature-age aspirants who may think 'Oh you know maybe it's better to get a job or get into the workforce or look after my family or not worry about my particular educational needs'," she said.

Professor Don DeBats heads American Studies at Flinders University and has challenged the stereotype that US tertiary education is more prohibitive than Australia's system.

He says it is a mistake to judge the cost of American universities by looking at the top private schools such as Harvard, as there are thousands of public universities that are much cheaper.

US government statistics show an average four-year degree at a public university costs just over $8,000 per annum.

"The costs vary a great deal across the institutions that are available and so as we've seen there are around four-and-a-half-thousand institutions and they have a huge variety of costs, so that students can choose the education that they think fits them best," he said.

"So they can stay at a community college for two years and transfer or they can go directly to a four-year university and then probably live away from home and pay room and board, plus tuition, but generally speaking the cost is no greater than would be the cost of Australian higher education, as long as we're talking about the public system."

Professor Don DeBats said Australian students had an advantage over the American students.

"The Australian system is kinder in terms of paying that money back," he said.

"[In] the US you have to pay that money back regardless of what your income is, so I always thought the HECS system was a really good Australian innovation because it's sensitive to employment," he said.

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